Background

Established in London in 2001, single price retailer, 99p Stores, grew rapidly to reach 251 stores and approximately 3,000 employees at its peak. In February 2015, Poundland agreed to buy the 99p Stores business for £55 million with the aim of converting the best stores to its own fascia. Regulatory approval was granted in September 2015, following a protracted investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Hilco Capital was engaged by Poundland to act as its partner, operating the 99p Stores business and managing the store transition process.

Hilco Capital’s role

Deployed a team of 25 retail specialists to manage all aspects of the store portfolio

Provided a team to cover all functional areas of the head office and warehouse

Took full responsibility for the operation of the business, reporting to the Poundland board on a weekly basis

Provided support in transitioning back office functions, including head office, logistics and IT

Conducted a detailed inventory analysis to identify common SKUs to transfer and non-core SKUs to liquidate in situ prior to store handover